On golden wings
by Monfang
Summary: An angel vs the army of Hell, with a little drama mixed in. can she survive when a new evil comes. All Content updated 4/21/08
1. Prologue

A shadowy figure stared out across the land in witch he is forced to rule

Prologue

Into the shadows

A shadowy figure stared out across the land in witch he is forced to rule. A blackened landscape scared by rivers of blood and forest of whipping trees. Doors are scattered in random places leading to 'unique' punishments for Hells special residents. The smell of blood and death poisoned the air as the screams of pain and anguish crying from the mouths of the doomed echoed in his skull. It was the place feared by all believers and hated by all that were forced to reside here. Yes, even Lucifer hated Hell. Why shouldn't he, being cast down from Paradise and locked in the place were nightmares and horrors are born. All for not bowing to someone who created nothing but pieces of filth!  
A low moaning drew the attention, but not his gaze of the Dark Lord, to the woman behind him. Riana, his daughter, drew her fingers across her lips as she gave another moan, a seductive smile drawing across her face. Her face was soft and gave the slight look of innocence; her hair was like silk and her hair as dark as the night sky. Her body, although slender, was well equipped with wide hips and large chest. "Father," she said in a seductively sweet voice. "You look so down. May be I could help with that, hmmm?" she rose and took her time going to him swaying hr hips knnowing that the can sense every movement. The only thing she had on was a very reveling leotard and a see though robe, although Lucifer took no notice of this with his back still turned. When she was behind him, she ran her hands and her body up his back and felt his rigid muscles. Using his shoulders as support, she lifted her shelf to reach the ear of the tall man and gave it several licks and a nibble.  
"Riana." came the low rumbling of his voice. "Remember your place."  
"But, daddy." Her hand ran across his face. "I just want to play." Every part of his face was built like a wall and was as blank as one, a sharp chin and cheek bones set the foundation for a slightly rugged beard and hair. But his eyes. She turned his head so she could meet his eyes. That was her mistake.  
Once his gaze met hers, she went rigged, her face contorting with the look of true fear. Her heart, racing and pounding, felt like it was going to erupt from her chest. Nightmares of every fear and every disaster came alive in her mind, their force bringing her to her knees, shaking and tears poring from her eyes, wanting to scream but unable to ether take a breath nor to remove her eyes from the hold of the gaze nor release herself from his shoulders.

But she did not need to for he grabbed her by the neck and tossed her across the room like a rag doll. "I told you, know you place." he said with a deeper tone that echoed on the walls and with that, he removed eyes allowing her relax and wipe her tears away.  
She rose and composed herself as best she could, but was unable to stop herself shaking.

"Forgive me." She said. "I thought only to raise your spirits."

"There is no reason to do that." he said bringing his tone to normal. "My nervousness will pass on its own."

A smile crossed her face. "Are we close?"

"Yes."

Like a delighted child, she beamed at him and said. "Does that mean..."

"Yes." He said with a simple chuckle.

"Tell me again, about what will happen."

A smile creped on his face as he said, "Once this plan is complete, all of the disgusting earth dwellers will bow down to their rightful masters! And we will live in the sun light and dance in the moon's rays!" his happiness was cut short as the door to his camber door was opened. "I said not to dis-"he stopped seeing who it was. "Oh, my son, come in."

His son, Mammon, was almost a mirror reflection of his father in facial features but he had a bit more tone and was wearing a patch over his left eye. "Forgive me father. "He said deep voice. "But we've encountered a problem with the plan."

The air around Lucifer began to distort and his body tensed, if Razar was looking at him in the eyes, it would have possibly killed him, "How big of a problem?" he said with ever growing rage.

"We had to abort." He said barely keeping his voice calm.

Lucifer turned and seeming to fly grabbed Razar by the collar of his black plate armor and lifted him in the air like he was nothing. "Why?" he roared, the air in the room shimmering like a heat wave.

Choking past the fear rushing though him, Razar said "The a-angels intervened and s-stopped our a-attack."

"Don't give me that! We both know that as long as we don't harm pure hearts the angles can't touch us."

"That's just it, father. One of our own attempted to harm the target."

Hearing that it wasn't his son who was at fault, he let his feet touch the ground but kept firm grip on him. "Who? Bring him to me!"

"I thought you would like to see him." he said with a sly grin. "So, I brought him to you." he snapped his fingers and the chamber doors opened reveling two demons, lizard like beasts with two wicked looking horns and razor sharp teeth. Between them they carried a heavily beaten man. Upon entering the room, he was thrown forward to land on his face.

"Accursed beasts, I'll get you yet." Marale's appearance was of that of a frail man, too weak to carry even his full body weight. Wearing the apparel similar to a big business man he looked the part of a rich full that would have tried to buy his way into Heaven. Which he did. He dusted himself off, sneering at the two demons behind him, and turned to face Lucifer. His expression changed from anger, to surprise, then quickly to amusement. "Well well, if it isn't the Dark Lord himself, what a pleasant surprise." he said with a mocking voice and gave a pathetic bow.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Lucifer grabbed the man by the tuff of his short, black hair and hurled him across the room to the balcony were Lucifer was once standing. He approached the injured man and shouted, "We were so close to the goal. but you had to go and ruin it." he punctuated the last word with a kick so hard that lifted him off the ground and nearly sent him over the edge before Lucifer caught him by his foot, allowing him to dangle over a vortex of nothingness nearly 20 stories down, "Any last words?" Lucifer said with a smile of pure joy and evil.  
"Yes," he said all too calmly. "I'm going to enjoy killing you the most." before Lucifer could respond, Marale kicked out with his free foot causing Lucifer to release him. And then he did a most unusual thing as he fell, he laughed. As the frail man fell to almost certain death, he laughed like he just won a victory over the Dark Lord.

Lucifer wasn't sure what just happened. The vortex below leads to the pit of true evil. No being entered it and came out alive, or died quietly. No being should laugh about being thrown into that. But what shocked him even more was that when Marale approached it, it seamed to reach out and absorb him in to itself. And Marale didn't give so much as a peep. This scared Lucifer even more than it angered him. Could there be something going on in his own kingdom that he doesn't know about? And if so, what?

"Father?" The voice of his son released him from his thoughts. He turned to the others standing behind him. Only the demons with their stone set faces were free from the look of shock the other two shared. Lucifer quickly regained himself and set his face back into its normal blank expression. "Leave me." He said, "I need to think."

With a quick bow, they left him to his thoughts. With them gone, he returned to the balcony and turned his gaze upward. With a wave of his hand he conjured an image of the only thing that could make him happy, a starry night sky. Why shouldn't he, he was the one who helped create it.

But something caught his attion that made the happiness fade away, the aligning of the planets. Although now it wasn't a perfect aligning, within several years it would be. Being the one who created the event, he couldn't help but to wonder, what omen would this bring. Good or bad?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Rude awakening

It was early morning in the country town of Rubbies, Minnesota, and the air is still with anticipation of mornings first light. Animals ranging from squirrels to dogs to deer are awake but barely moving just waiting for the sign that the night hunters are gone. Even the humans on this lazy day of summer await the light so they may go to work on house chores or at their shop before it gets too hot. The only ones active are the ones who have to leave to go to work in the city or they who just came home from late night jobs.

Diana Rosenthal, a soon to be 12th grader at The Rock Catholic School, would have liked to sleep long after sunrise to 'celebrate' her last summer vacation before her senior hood but as she soon find out; Fathers have a way of ruining a good day. At about 6:45, when the sun had completely risen, a crystal hanging near the window next to the bed caught the sun's light and redirected it to a thin thread above her head. And attached to that now burning thread was a bucket of ice cold water.

She possibly would have been asleep when the thread broke if it wasn't for the smoke from the thread. At the smell of the burning thread, she opened her eyes just in time to see the thread break and the bucket swing down to drop its load right on her and into her open mouth. The chill of the water made her gag and throw up the water in her mouth. After catching her breath and wiping her wet hair away from her green eyes, she brought her attention to the bucket. After tracing the set up of the rig to the crystal, she grabbed it and examined it. It didn't take long for her to recognize it and its owner.

"DAD!" her yell echoed though the house and to her parents room. Her father, Steven Rosenthal, tensed for a moment knowing the punishment he would soon receive. He no sooner finished that thought than the door to his room banged open and his now angry daughter stomped in. her long dark brown hair dripping wet only helping to bring out the fury in the brown eyes of this tall teenager.

Steven raised himself up on his elbows and gave a playful smile. His 'mullet' stile dark brown hair was messed up from him sleeping and covered his green eyes. His tanned skin showed his enjoyment to work with nature. With a mocking tone and wide grin he said, "Good morning, beautiful." A look at her would have not really brought the word 'beautiful' to mind. With her hair matted to her head, she looked like she just got finished taking a shower. She approached his bed with a look that would have made most people think twice about letting her near them.

She gave her signature sweet-and-sour smile, the one that could melt a heart of someone who doesn't know her and freezes the hearts of people who do. Lifting up a newly filled bucket of water said, "Morning, Dad!" and with that dropped the bucket and its contents right on his head getting it firmly stuck on his head.

Most people would be greatly upset at this but not her father, evident as he tried to get the now stuck bucket though constant fits of laughter. "Ha Ha Ha! I'm not sure what to blame, my stupidity or my big head!"

"It might just be both." That voice was Diana's mother, Rita Rosenthal, from the master bathroom. When Diana turned to face her she saw that she was dressed for work at the daycare with a pink blouse and a blue dress. Her dark brown hair looks lovely framing her face but because it gets in her way at work she prefers ties it back as she had now." Now Diana you know that violence only makes your father do it more."

"I know." She said with a shrug. "But it makes me feel better."

"but Rika, I just wanted her to get up early."

"get me up early For what?" Diana said, a little bit worried.

Stevens gave one more yank and pulled the bucket off with a loud pop. "For work of course."

"Whoa, slow down dad." She said surprised at the sudden news. "Where did this come from? I have already planed out my vacation and I can't get a job right now. I never agreed to that. I want to enjoy my summer first."

"Well hold on a second, you have no choice on this matter and besides," he emphasized this point with a shake of his pointing hand. "You agreed to this."

"when?"

Rita returned from applying what little makeup she wore and said "Steven, you did tell her last night didn't you?"

"Yea, I think so."

"Dad, when?"

"At like 9:30."

"So it didn't occur to you that I was sleeping?"

A short silence insured as they awaited his answer, his face contorting with thought. Then, after several seconds, he said with a smile. "Nope, guess it never did."

Diana and Rika both gave an angry groan and left the room Leaving Steven to laugh at his own pathetic joke and get dressed alone.

A little bit later Diana came down the stairs ringing the last of the water out of her hair and walked into the kitchen were her mom was cooking breakfast, the smell of eggs and sausage floated in the air. Her house was like any two-story house, front door leading to the living room kitchen combo, hallway next to the stairs leads to the study and the den. It all was moderately decorated, mostly with figurines depicting angels thanks to her mom. She sat down at the kitchen table to finish tying back her hair; she still had the angry look on her face.

Her mother sat down next to her and put a plate of food in front of her. "You are going to have to forgive him sometime, ya'know."

"Do you have any idea what he's trying to do?" Diana said shaking a fork at her mom. "He's trying to ruin my summer!"

"No he's not. It's just something the family does when kids turn 17." She said trying to calm her down. "It's supposed to teach you independence and responsibility. And besides," she said with a smirk, "some people pay very well."

That perked Diana up for a moment before a thought crossed her mind. "But I bet you two will take all of it and put it into a savings account and I can't touch it, right?"

"It's your money you can do what ever you want with it."

Diana gave a happy little scream and shared a hug with her mom. "This is great! I'm going to get ready!" and with that she ran up the steps two at a time.

Rika watched her daughter until she couldn't see her anymore and then gave a sigh looking at the untouched food knowing that with the amount of time it takes for her to get ready for anything the food with end up being too cold to eat. "That's my girl." She said.

Later that morning, Diana walked down the stairs dressed like a secretary; black pants, blue shirt with white strips, hair tied up in a bun. Her father was reading the news paper and drinking his herbal tea which he stopped when she came down. He looked over the folded down paper and gave a grin. "You look like a million bucks, Diana! Guess you can clean up good if given enough time."

"Wouldn't take so long If you hadn't splashed me with water!"

"Do you want a job or not?"

After a short stare down between the two, Rika came from the back of the house with a handful of flyers. "Cut it out you two! Diana, these are the job openings in our area. Please visit each one as soon a possible."

"'k, mom."

"So are you all ready?"

"I think so."

Her mom gave a dreamy look and said, "My little girl is growing up and getting a job and everything."

"Now, Rika," Steven said with a mocking tone. "Do you want me to grab the video camera for this, too?"

"No, baby," She said faking a cry. "I think I'll be fine."

Diana sighed and turned to leave saying, "Well, I'll be going. See ya later."

"Good luck!" her parents said before she closed the front door.

The walk to the bus stop to the city was uneventful, a few hellos to friends, nothing much besides that. Except, when she reached the bus stop she took a deep breath and relaxed herself and then, she got a strange feeling. Like the air its self was electrified. She told herself that she was just nerves but still the feeling lingered like a thought resting at the edge of her mind it wouldn't leave her.

She wasn't too far from the truth; for in the Second Plane were spirits move, two Archangels glided toward the commercial section of town. One was a man who wore a pure white robe with a blue rope belt. He had long blond hair and his eyes were pure white with no pupils. The other was a woman in pale blue plate armor with a lightly decorated sword hanging at her side. Her hair was a dark blond and her eyes were a deep green. They glided to the center of the commercial district and came to a stop hovering in the air.

The female angel turned to the male and said with a gentle voice. "Is this the place, Ambriel?"

Her words didn't seam to register as he put his hand in his robe and pulled out a scroll and gave it to her. She laughed at herself at the mistake she made. Ambriel, being the Angel who gives messages from God, is blind deaf and mute to all but the Lord so as to make certain that the messages are carried out, as His will desires. After reminding herself to never do that again, she opened the scroll. It read as followed;

From the Highest Throne in the Seventh Heaven, Metatron

Archangel Tyreal, you are here by assigned to find the descendent of She Who Holds the Keys and use her pure body as a catalyst for combating the demon force that we believe is going to erupt in the vicinity of Rubbies, Minnesota as the humans call it. The exact time and place could not be calculated exactly; as such we implore you to hurry in your search of The Girl.

May the Sun always touch your wings!

"Oh, joy." Tyreal said annoyed. "Couldn't even give me what she looks like ether, huh?" she returned the scroll and floated up to get a better look at the area. The sound of cars and chattering of the humans hurt her ears and the light reflecting off of the shiny surfaces made her eyes sting. "How can they live like this? Even the air they breathe is toxic." She sighed and returned to were Ambriel was still at and took is hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, thanking him for his guidance. With a small smile, he turned and flew off to vanish in the clouds. After waiting a moment she returned to the problem at hand, finding a single human in a city full of them. Seeing no progress in just thinking about it, she began her search of the city.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It begins…

The town was noisy with the clattering of shoppers and tourists. Colors and flashy lights called out in an attempt to call in new customers. However, Diana did not notice all this as she sat on a wooden bench in the town square. She was slumped over with her head lowered looking at the last flyer she had. She had spent a good part of the day running from one side of town to the other, only to find jobs that were taken by other students or that she was not qualified for them. The only one left was for a cook at the local diner and ice cream parlor, Sweet Thing. A job she knew she could not do at all.

"Maybe she'll train me." Diana said, as she got up from the bench, hopeful that she would be able to come home with the promise of a paycheck and a little independence. The walk to the diner was short considering that is was just a block away from the square. She took in the sight of the place when she walked in; a true testament to the old Route 66 diners, it had red backless stools surrounding the bar which contained numerous devices for serving food and a little window showing a very active kitchen. The side of the diner was surrounded by the big seats that if you squish in you can fit three people. It even had old black and white pictures showing the town in the olden days.

However, its most important feature, to Diana at least, was next to the bar, on the left side, was a door that said 'office'. And there Diana stood; gathering her composer, getting ready to put out herself as best she could…when the door opened and the sound of laughter entered the diner.

The laughter was coming from two people. The first was Katrina Johns, a plump little black woman who owned the diner. As her style, she had her hair rolled up in a bun and a white stained apron over her kakis and blue T-shirt. The other, a huge man in height and in mussel size who was wearing a white button down dress shirt and blue jeans, turned to leave the room before he stopped to look down at her. His eyes met hers and a look of confusion replaced his once joyful face. He tensed his face, trying his best to figure out who this very familiar woman was.

Diana sighed and gave him the answer. "It's me Brock, Diana."

His' eyebrows shot up in surprise. He brought himself down to her eye level and said in a very baritone voice. "Boss, is that really you?" Brock is not the sharpest kid in town but he is the kindest man you would ever meet. When he finally realized that it really was her, a big grin shot across his face. "Boss!" laughing he scooped her up in his arms and gave her a bear hug yelling. "Boss is here! Boss is here!" the sudden noise making everybody in the diner stop their chatter and watch the show, smiles on everybody's face.

"Yes, Brock, I'm here." She said while rubbing his brown crew cut hair. "But why are you here?"

"Oh!" he put her down, the grin on his face growing ever wider. "I just got a job here as a chef. Cool, huh Boss?"

The smile on Diana's face faded slightly at the news that the only job left in town was taken. "That's fantastic, Brock!" She said trying her best to sound happy for him, which she was, even when she wanted that job.

Brock narrowed his eyes in thought brought his face so close to hers their noses were touching. He looked into her eyes, unblinking, unmoving, just peering, as if looking into her very soul. Diana could not stand it when he did this. No matter what she did, she could never look away. Then the feeling returned. The wanting for something she could not put her finger on. Her breathing sped up and her heart felt like it would pound its way out of her chest. However, just as quickly as it started, he took his eyes from her and everything returned to normal.

"You're lying." He said bluntly. She hung her head and stared at the floor. Even if he could fail an I.Q. test, when he stared at anyone like that he could find out anything he wanted. "You want this job didn't you?" he rose to his full height and smiled. "It's Ok, Boss. I can fix this." He turned to Miss Johns and said "sorry, but I quit."

This shocked Katrina. "Why you want to do that, Brock." She said. "You deserve this job. I kept it open just with the hope of hiring the best cook in town." She stammered for a good reason he should not quit. Diana saved her the effort.

"Don't worry, I got this." She said and pulled Brock down by his shirt and grabbed his nose with her index and middle fingers and said in a whisper. "What did I tell you about helping people?"

"But, Boss."

"What did I tell you?"

Like a defeated child, he hung his head said in a low voice. "Only if it doesn't hurt yourself."

"Good boy." She leaned around him to look at Katrina. "He'll be coming in tomorrow, Miss Johns."

Not quite sure what to say, she just nodded and went into the kitchen.

Towards midday, the sun was doing its worst; people were crowding in air-conditioned stores and under the shade of trees to fend off the heat. Diana and Brock took a break from walking around by having ice cream in the square. Here, even with the heat, the townspeople were getting ready for the summer festival. Little lanterns were hanging from string along the paths and a stage for the talent show was set up in the center of the square. Here and there, you could see little shops were locals were selling treats, like the homemade ice cream they were eating now.

Diana was hoping that ice cream and a happy smile would make Brock for get about the prior event, and it did. Soon he was chattering on about happenings in his family and new recipes he wanted to try out. She was going to comment on a new pie he wanted to try when she felt something. Her right leg was twitching, her dad's did the same when he was thinking hard but never once did she do it.

She knew something was wrong about today but what it was she could not figure out what. She put her hand on her leg to stop the twitching and took a deep breath to relax. It was then she realized her entire body was wound up as if it was ready to run away from something. She had to get home.

"Brock," She said getting up. "Let's go home."

"Why?" he said face covered in vanilla ice cream.

After a moment she said, "My feet are starting to hurt. And I want to get out of these shoes."

With a grin, he stood and wiped the mess off his face with the back of his arm and said. "I'll carry you." With no protest, she let him pick her up like a child and jogged off towards the nearest bus stop. However, even when the bus stop at the four-way came in sight with the bus waiting, Diana could not shake off the feeling of dread. As if she was staring at a ticking clock and knew at midnight she would die.

_I am safe. _Diana said to herself repeatedly while unconsciously pulling herself closer to Brock's chest.

_No, you are not. _A child like voice said.

Several feet away from the bus stop, Brock stopped and stood still, just staring the bus. Diana looked up at him and said. "Why did you stop?"

"Look." He said. "The bus." She turned her attention to the bus in question and saw what he saw. The air around it was not behaving as it should. It was distorting and shimmering like a heat wave. Diana was about to say something to calm him but was interrupted by four loud bangs followed by screaming on the bus. The tires of the bus had just exploded as if they were firecrackers The sudden loss of air had caused the bus to drop and shake up its occupants.

Diana knew that it was impossible for even this heat to cause something like that. Something strange was going on and she didn't want to be here to find out what. But that wasn't her decision.

A curving red line began to appear in the center of the four-way, forming a circle that touched all four of the sidewalk corners. Runic symbols appeared with a burst of fire at every two feet. When the circle was finished, another one appeared inside that one. In a similar fashion as the runes, a five-pointed star appeared, its point facing the south.

Then, all was quiet. No one dared to even speak and it was as if the wind itself had stopped blowing, as if itself feared what would happen next. In the center of the circle the ground buckled and rose, the black asphalt melting in the immense heat, people of sharper minds took this as a warning, turned, and ran screaming at the top of their lungs.

The engorged ground began to move and change. At three points, one on the bottom and two on the top, the ground began to sink in and widen to resemble eye sockets on a skull that had its mouth was wide open and level with the ground. While the people were staring at that, the sky began to turn a deep red and the clouds became black. The color of the asphalt changed from a black to a blood red. Then, as quickly as it all started, it stopped. The skull solidified and ceased moving.

That was the last straw. Diana grabbed Brock's shirt and yelled. "Brock, run, Now!" he needed no extra encouragement and took off at full speed with her in his arms. Many followed as her yelling brought them out of their trances and ran for cover screaming and yelling about the end of the world. They who were too scared to run or who were unable to run fast enough were the first to die.

Just when Diana had begun to run, little creatures had begun to pore out of the skulls mouth with amazing speed. Seemingly, with no reason, they locked their eyes on the first people they saw and, when they got to them, they leaped on top of them and began to tear them apart. On the bus the violence was the worst, with the door being the only exit for the people, death was inevitable. With no discursions to race, sex or age, they crashed though the windows and tore though the metal to reach the people inside. In seconds, the windows were covered in fresh red blood.

Soon Even the people inside the buildings, who locked themselves in any room with a lock to hide from them, were hunted down and killed with no care for who it was.

Diana covered her ears and closed her eyes tight to shut out the screaming from the dieing people. Brock, on the other hand, was crying his eyes out, wanting to help the people in some way, but knew that would put Diana in the path of what ever was hurting the people. After a short time, Brock began to notice that the death screams were coming closer. He was losing distance and time with what ever was following them. They had to hide and soon.

"Boss!" he said a bit short of breath. "We have to find a place to hide."

She opened her eyes to look at their soundings. They were halfway across the large square. Every one around them were either running in panic or being trampled under foot. Up ahead she saw their sanctuary, an alleyway between two brick buildings where she and her friends always hung out. After Diana Alerted Brock to it, he quickly dashed into it. He carried her deeper into the cramped alleyway to a space behind a dumpster, out of sight of people and what ever was chasing them.

They both sat there, short of breath and hearts banging in their chests as they unwillingly listened to the sound of death screams and of bones breaking. After what seamed like an eternity, it all just stopped. For some reason the silence scared Diana more that the screaming. Then, a whisper of a voice called out from the entrance of the alleyway. "My baby." a gasp and some sobs. "I can't find my baby. Can somebody help me find my baby?"

Diana, knowing that looking around the dumpster would reveal their position, used a piece of glass leaning on the wall to see who it was. She nearly threw up from the sight, for a young woman, glassy eyed as if she was dead, had stumbled in the alleyway, and probably was not even sure where she was. The reason for Diana's sudden illness was that the woman's arm was missing leaving a bloody mess on her and wherever she walked. The sight of her stomach that was cut open leaving her insides to dangle out followed this horrible sight.

"Help me." She cried. "They took my baby. The little people took my baby." She finally fell to the ground, her twisted leg unable to hold her sagging body.

Diana, nausea now gone, was curious about the little people the woman was talking about a moment ago. Then she saw a 'little person'. Its long claws clicking on the pavement as it advanced on the woman. Its Giant yellow teeth and golden eyes glowing in what sun was about to find its way though the thick black clouds. It was hairless with red skin like tightened leather that showed off his bones. It clacked its way over to the sobbing woman, taking his time to look over its prize.

When he moved in front of the woman, she lifted her head and stared the thing right in the eyes, and smiled. "My baby?" her eyes lit up in her delusion and tried to touch the thing with a shaking hand. "Will you take me to my baby?"

The creature smiled wider and placed his hands on her face, as if comforting her. Her cheeks gave a little glow as if her life was returning to her. However, it was not hers to keep. The creature tightened his grip on her head and twisted, giving off a disgusting snap.

Diana's stomach could not take anymore and she noisily threw up. The sound the regurgitation hitting the pavement and of her gasping was more than enough to alert the thing of their position just several feet away. It wasted no time in charging to their hiding place.

Brock acted quickly, grabbed a pipe that was lying next to them and brought it down on it when it came around the corner. The once fearsome creature was now just a pile of blood and brains.

The only sound was Brock's heavy breathing and Diana's gasping. They both just sat there behind the dumpster, looking up at the red sky and wondering whether this was the end. For what felt like an eternity, they sat there in that smelly place with a dead monster and woman. Brock looked down at Diana who, in spite of her self, was shaking in fear and was on the verge of crying.

Brock knew that he had to protect her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, scaring her a bit, and said. "Boss, I'm going to go find some help. Stay right here, ok?"

"No." she said. "Its too dangerous, I'm going with you."

"I'll be fine."

"Brock please let me—"

Brock raised his voice. "Boss!" Diana stopped complaining, he had never raised his voice to her. "Please stay here, were its safe." He looked her in the eyes to show his determination. All she could do was nod her head.

With a smile he stood up and left the alleyway, Diana listened to the sound of his feet pounding on the pavement until she could not hear them anymore. Then she was alone.

She looked over at the dead body of what ever it was. Both the brains and the blood were dark red and even now, it was still leaking blood. "Disgusting thing." She said although she happened to be slightly interested by the speed of the decomposition, for even now what looked like little maggots were moving in and out of the brain pieces. She turned away from the sight and tried to focus on something else. Just when she had gotten the image out of her head, a very familiar sound rang in her ears.

"Brock?" she said, turning to face whom she hoped was in fact him but instead met with a far deferent sight. The sound she heard was of the thing's claws as it picked its self up off the ground. Its golden eyes met her and she froze, unable to even scream.

"Am I going to die?" she asked the voice.

No one answered.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Guardian Angel

Tyreal was shocked at the speed of the destruction caused by the Minions. Buildings once used as shelter for some humans now are barely standing from the onslaught and parts of the town were burning. Countless bodies were scattered everywhere, most of which had limbs and other parts missing. From her possession on top of the white church tower, she is able to see the efforts of the angels to seal the portal to Hell. The rest worked with the humans on the outside of the main city, focused on keeping the situation contained. Although wingless, the angels still glowed with the power of Virtue and wore the armament of Heaven.

A pressure behind her told her that an Angel had approached her. Tyreal turned and when she met his gaze, she immediately lowered to a waist bow. "Ambriel, sir, what brings you here?"

"Well," he said in a mocking tone, "It certainly not the massacre of the humans that did it."

Tyreal smiled at his joke and raised herself up. As accustom to Principalities he wore a military uniform of the area. Camouflage pants and shirt with many different colored bars on his chest. In one hand, he had a scepter and the other an orb. On his belt was a sword.

He cleared his throat and addressed her with an attitude of a sergeant. "Archangel Tyreal, Because of the sudden appearance of many Minions with physical bodies, it has become necessary for you to find and confiscate a human host, perform a Union with said human, and assist with the battle"

"But why me?" she said worried. "I'm sure there are a lot more Archangels capable enough to do the task."

"As much as it troubles me to say but," he took a pause to keep his voice steady, "this isn't a localized incident."

Tyreal stared at him, her face frozen in shock. So many questions came to mind and she wanted to ask, but she could not make herself to do so.

"I know Tyreal but don't worry. We have the situation under control we just need you to help finish here and then you can return to your mission.

Ambriel's strong words broke the shock and Tyreal asked, "Has the location on a match been located?"

Ambriel lowered his head. "I'm sorry; you must find it on you own. All of the available Angels in the area are ether fighting the louse Minions or sealing the Gate. No one has the time to fine one."

She let out a groan, finding a Human who has the same Sprit Frequency as her would be hard enough but when Minions are killing them left and right, it seems almost impossible. Ambriel sensed her distress and said, "We all are facing difficulties with this. All I can ask of you is to try."

She nodded her agreement and focused on the matter at hand. "What is the current situation?"

Right now, the coalition of the Angels and the human militia are holding the Minions inside the town. What we need you to do is join the battle and move inside the town to give them some relief. You must hurry. With time, we fear that a Sentinel may force his way out of the gate and overwhelm us. I will take my live now."

"Wait! Can't you help me find a host?" She was hoping for some good luck today and his abilities would make things much easier.

"I am sorry, I must return to over see the survivors. Blessings" and with that he took his leave.

Tyreal sighed and turned to the burning city. She closed her eyes and opened herself to the energy of the area. She felt her soul began to sing, one single note, high and strong. It hung for a moment and then disappeared. She stood there for a moment almost ready to give up when what sounded like her original note, weaker but identical, returned from her left.

Worried that her only chance may be lost, she flew as fast as she could towards the soul.

Moments later, Tyreal slowed to get a better sense of her location. And it could not have been worse. From were she was hovering; she had a clear view of the Black Gate, which was not even two miles from her position. She cursed her luck and began searching the area.

Meanwhile, the battle raged on. The Angels had split into two groups. One with given the responsibility of assisting the humans with the battle and the other was focused on stopping the arrival of new Demons and, if they could, seal the gate. The second was proving to be difficult, every few seconds the Minions would throw themselves against the seal that the Angels had created.

In between the poundings, one Angel said. "At this rate they'll break though!"

Another spoke up, "We can't do this, there're too many."

"Shut up! We're not going to let that happen." He winced in pain at another pounding. "All we have to do is hold out-"another crash. "-until the others are finished." Another shock. "Then we'll all seal this gate and go home." His speech rallied the Angels there and they redoubled their efforts.

Tyreal was worried, she had not found the Human yet and she was running out of time. At any moment, her connection with the soul could be lost and then the Union will be impossible. Weaving though alleyways, she cursed the human and their random road designs. Having finished a block she moved to another starting with a gun shop. A gruesome sight met her at the shattered window door. Half-eaten corpses littered the blood covered floor many with guns clinched in there hands. The way they lay with their close proximity to the guns and ammo told of the humans despite struggle to arm themselves before their death.

"At the beginning of the assault, these humans must have thought calmly enough to grab weapons to defend themselves with." She said with a touch of grief. After closer examination, she saw that most of the male corpses were at the front while the females were toward the back. "Only a human would worry more about others than themselves when faced with unbeatable odds." Something about this place reminded her about what Ambriel said about the humans fighting and with quick count of the guns on the floor with the ones missing off the wall explained how they were able to do such a thing.

The sound of a gunshot echoed though the store loud and clear from the back of the store waking her from her deep thoughts and drove her though the store, her body passing though the walls until she reached the back alley. An old man stood there with what appeared to be a twelve-gage shotgun in his hands. "Stinkin' demon." He said with a rasp of old age. "Go back to hell were you belong."

This old man was nothing impressive in appearance. Short with a potbelly filling up his flannel shirt and jeans, the look carried its simplicity to his baldhead and fat cheeks. He gave a groan and walked over to the wall opposite to the store. He sat down with a plump and pulled out a vial and was about to take a swig when he stopped and stared. Stared right at her.

"Oh dear Lord, I must have gone crazy. First demons and now a beautiful Angel has come to pay me a visit."

"Sorry old man." Tyreal said. "I'm not looking for you."

"Oh." He looked at the vial he still had in his hand. "Mind if I have a drink?"

"Go ahead." she said plainly. With a grin, he took a big sip from the silver flask and gave a sigh of relief.

"That hit the spot! So my winged friend, what brings you to this mess we call home?"

"I believe you already know the answer to that."

"What these guys? Hahaha! Don't worry; I gave enough guns and ammo to the militia to start a small war! We have this under control."

"Oh, really? Then what about him?" she pointed to the Minion that was just a moment ago lying on the ground and now was slowly crawling over to them while its body repaired itself.

The man backed away in fear as a look of disbelief appeared on his face. "Good God! How do you kill that thing?" He reached for his gun at his side, took aim, and fired a shot. The demon flinched as the shot took a piece of its face off but continued forward.

"It's strange." Tyreal said with honest curiosity as he fired another shot. "You know that won't work but yet you continue. Why?"

"I have to do something." The man said short of breath. "I won't die by the hands of no demon!" he fired off several more rounds before the gun clicked as if demanding more ammo. Desperate, he dug in his pockets for more shells but stopped when the Angel ran her hand along the gun and gave a nod when his eyes met hers. Filled with new confidence he took careful aim and fired. The bright light blinded him for a moment but when it passed, all he could find of the Minion was a pool of goop.

When he tried to thank her for helping him, he found her walking away. "Wait!" he called out. "Where are you going?"

"I have to find a certain human so that I may assist with the battle." She said plainly and continued onward.

"Do you have any specifics?"

She paused a moment and said, "All I know is that it's a female and she's somewhere around here."

"Well I hate to disappoint you." The old man said sorrowfully, "but almost everybody around here is dead. Well all, except, maybe for her."

Tyreal stopped and turned around to face him, when he pointed looked at the dumpster at the end of the alley, she looked, and there beneath a dirty blanket was a girl about 18 in age although she had passed out her face had the look of raw fear.

"You couldn't be?" Tyreal said to the non-responsive girl. "Could you?" After knelling down to the sleeping girl's level, she closed her eyes and hummed a tone for a moment, the same as before, and then it was quiet. Finally, after a moment, the same note emanated from within the sleeping girl. She could not believe her luck; she had managed to find the girl without even trying!

"So, is it her? The girl you were looking for?"

"Yes. Now I can complete this mission and return to finding the child." She turned her attention to the old man and said in a strict voice. "You must do the same!"

Surprised by her sudden out burst he jumped to attention like a whip private shouting, "Yes, Maim! What is my mission?"

"I want you to gather as many weapons ammo and supplies as you can find and take it to the troops. Do you understand?"

"Yes maim!" and he ran off to follow her command.

She was certain that he was distracted with the task when a loud ruckus erupted from within the store so she turned her attention to the girl sleeping next to the smelly dumpster. "Well, well. Now that we are alone, lets began."

She placed her hands on the girl and concentrated. A warm glow surrounded them. Tyreal pressed herself against the sleeping form and melted in to the unknowing woman.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On shaky feet

The soundless space made the taping of Tyreal boots on the stone floor more of a nuisance to her ears that it usually was. She resisted the urge to just pull them off as she moved though the wall less corridor, deeper into the girl's mind. Pictures floating around the empty space, lighted by candles supposedly hanging from invisible hooks, depicted memories of every kind, some of which were faded and torn. Like one that depicted an elderly couple, with the paint were the faces are suppose to be greatly faded to where no recognition could be found. These memories called to her and she could not help but to touch some of them, to fell the strange ball of feelings the humans call emotions.

She need not worry about time, what would feel like a year here would be barely a moment outside. "But even so," Tyreal said to herself. "I have to get this over with, so." Nevertheless, even as she said that her eyes locked on to a picture. Both, she guessed, because it had a red veil over it and it had no candles near it, casting the strange portrait in a dark shadow. She had heard of this but never thought she would ever see it.

A suppressed memory, a moment in time that, for whatever reason, caused her to the point that she hid it from herself hiding it behind a veil. The frame was made of gold and had images of flowers and other nice things. This only brought the strangeness of this memory to a new level. Why did she hide this memory from herself? To have been adorned with such a beautiful frame it must be a grand event in her life.

Her pause ceased the irritable sound of her boots to a stop and brought a new sound to her ears. She looked around to find the source of the sound and found that it was coming from the core of the girl's mind further down the path. "What is that?" her curiosity drove her past the rest of the pictures. As she got closer to the core, the pictures grew fresher and more vivid. A double door faded into view in the middle of the corridor, marking the end of her journey to the core. The door was simply made with a plain frame. Tyreal mentally prepared herself of her entrance. The inner workings of the human mind are famous for its chaotic workings. There was one case where an angel didn't prepare himself for the entry and was sucked in to the human's imagination. Took him several years to get out, but he never was the same.

After she was certain that she was prepared, she grabbed a handle in each hand and pushed the doors open. A bright light blinded her for a moment and she closed her eyes to it. When she opened them, she found herself in a circular room with seven passages lining it aside from the one she entered. Unlike the corridor she just came from, this room had walls and a dome like ceiling from which a bright light shone. In the center of the room was a wooden bench that had cushions lining it. Lying on the bench was a girl dressed in a simple white dress. After approaching the girl, Tyreal realized it was the crying girl who was making the sound she heard.

She was laying half on and half off the bench her long straight brown hair covering her face as it rested on her arms. She shook with each sob. Tyreal took her time approaching her not wanting to scare her. The girl looked so pitiful lying there that Tyreal could not help but to rub her back to try to comfort her. As she laid her hand on her back, the crying girl jumped up and spun around.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" the girl shouted.

Tyreal wasn't expecting this. For a human's inner mind to see her is a rarity, one she did not prepare for. But it is an easy fix. "Me? I'm a traveler of sorts, looking for something important when I heard someone crying. So I came to investigate and found you. Are you okay?" The important thing about dealing with inner minds is that they live in a dream world most of the time. They never see the outside world except in dreams so it's easy to fool them.

"Oh, I'm sorry" she said wiping her eyes. "Its nothing. I just was being foolish. Crying for nothing."

That may be the key Tyreal thought. "Well it can't be nothing if you are crying over it." She said with false curiosity. "Please tell me."

The girl's eyes started to glint as fresh tears entered her eyes. She turned her head to the floor, her dark brown hair falling to cover her eyes.

No! She closed herself from me. I have to make her open up! "I'm sorry. That was completely rude of me to just ask that with out even exchanging names. My name is Tyreal. What's yours?"

She relaxed and blinked away the tears "D-Diana."

"Diana, that's a lovely name." A smile slipped its way onto Diana's face. Tyreal felt that this was her chance, she choose her words with care and said, "So, can you tell me what's wrong."

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, finding the words to speak. "Before you arrived, I was waiting for Brock, my friend, to return from finding help. And then that thing he had killed started moving again, I was so scared, I wanted to…to…" she trailed off as she began to shake with the sudden shock of the memory.

"He…He left me. He left me by to find help but he…he." Tears came out anew as she shook with sobbing.

Tyreal slowly wrapped her arms around the crying girl, pulling her to her chest in an attempt to comfort her. Tyreal brought her hand up to the young one's head to calm her. Her sobbing drew back from long drown out cries to quick sobs. When Diana had calmed down, Tyreal used her power on her. Her sobbing slowly calmed as it was replaced by slow steady breathing. Tyreal lifted the now sleeping girl off of her and laid her on the bench.

"Now you sleep tight." She said. "I just need to borrow your body for a while." Content that the girl was comfortable, Tyreal moved to the center of the room where the beam of light had its most focus. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. The glow in the small sanctuary intensified as the Archangel focused her holy power. Tyreal raised her hands and spoke in a voice that seemed to echo for eternity. "_I claim this body in the name of The Great I Am!"_

"Why am I so heavy?"

Tyreal could not believe her luck. She just had to go and forget the first rule of body claiming; gravity takes effect. Now she learned how hard it is to move a 110-pound body with gravity in effect. Nevertheless, she thanked God for making Angel armor weightless.

Moving herself out of the alley was an arduous task, especially with her eyes closed. She felt her hand reach the end of the slick dumpster and stopped. She had to get coordinated with the body to make things easier and that meant opening of her new senses. After taking a moment to calm herself, she opened her new eyes.

What made it so hard was that Angels do not really have eyes or ears; they feel the light and sound waves as they move though the air and are able to block some from being interpreted. However, humans cannot do that. Humans are wide open to every sight sound and smell that reaches them.

She lifted herself as best as she could with her shaky knees and, after some preparation, slowly opened her senses.

And what reached them was horrid.

First was the smells, the rotting garbage in the dumpster was bad enough but that mixed with freshly opened bodies, newly spilled blood, burned skin and feces. Before she had time to keep it back, a foul vile rose up in her throat and poured out of her mouth to spill on the ground. After some gagging and gasping she began to wonder how some humans could stand doing that regularly.

She was violently reminded of her new sense of hearing when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the almost quiet air like a spear. The shock of the sudden scream caused her to stiffen and lose her balance. Instinct moved her hands to stop her falling but the sharp rocks of the gravel cut in to her hands. The sharp sting brought tears to her eyes and a small cry from her mouth.

A new feeling approached her. Like a silent beast from within, it gripped her reason before she could even protect herself. She opened her eyes to view the carnage outside the city, in the direction of the scream. She then turned her attention to her hands, which were raw and bleeding slightly.

"I can't do this." She said to nobody. "I can't!" she cried out. "I'm…I'm…"


End file.
